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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — farmland
  5. deal — to handle
  6. present — a gift
  7. tear — from crying
  8. present — the time now
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. field — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. present — there
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com